Family Solutions Practice Supervisor

Essex County Council; Braintree; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a Family Solutions Practice Supervisor to supervise staff and drive positive outcomes for children, young people and families. You will manage referrals, allocate tasks, and support staff development while maintaining strong partnerships with partner agencies.

The role requires professional social work registration, supervisory experience, and a commitment to continuous practice improvement within a large local authority.

Qualifications

• Professionally qualified in social work and registered with Social Work England. Ideally you will hold a practice educator qualification or be willing to work towards achieving one and have some supervisory experience.
• At least three years post qualified with evidence of post qualification development.
• Demonstrable skills in staff supervision and experience of developing good practice with staff through approaches such as coaching, joint working/observations, and reflective discussions.
• Experience of dealing with incoming referrals effectively, risk assessing and allocating tasks. Have an ability to problem solve in crisis.
• Experience of cases allocation, and safety planning.
• Ability to work effectively in partnership with a wide range of professionals, building relationships to promote safety of children and resolve differences.
• Commitment to practice improvement and able to utilise the principles of effective practice to improve outcomes for children and young people with a range of complex needs.
• Good presentation skills and be able to use these to represent the team (in the absence of the Team Manager) at locality strategic planning meetings.
• Working knowledge of children's service legislation and guidance; including understanding of current changes to early help / family help / Families First Partnership Programme.

Responsibilities

• Supervise staff from a range of professional backgrounds and support them to work creatively.
• Manage new referrals via a duty system, making decisions about required actions and allocating work.
• Support Team Manager in maintaining effective working relationships with partners.
• Participate in locality strategic planning meetings and represent the team when required.

Skills

Staff supervision

Coaching

Joint working/observations

Reflective discussions

Risk assessment

Safety planning

Partnership working

Practice improvement

Presentation skills

Crisis management

Education

Social work qualification

Practice educator qualification

Job description

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK. We are a dynamic, passionate, supportive and vibrant team who provide intensive support to families, and we ensure that family empowerment is at the heart of our interventions. You will be joining a well-established and high performing team at a time when we are growing and evolving as a service. We would love to hear from interested and suitably experienced applicants who are committed to working with whole families to help them achieve their outcomes and improve their family lives. The Role of Family Solutions Practice Supervisor The postholder will work closely with the Team Manager to enable the Family Workers to continue to deliver positive outcomes for children, young people and the families we support as well as maintaining the effective working relationships that we have developed with partners. The role will involve you supervising staff from a range of professional backgrounds, supporting them to work creatively and innovatively. It also requires you to manage new referrals via a duty system making decisions about required actions and allocating work.

• Professionally qualified in social work and registered with Social Work England. Ideally you will hold a practice educator qualification or be willing to work towards achieving one and have some supervisory experience.
• At least three years post qualified with evidence of post qualification development.
• Demonstrable skills in staff supervision and experience of developing good practice with staff through approaches such as coaching, joint working/observations, and reflective discussions.
• Experience of dealing with incoming referrals effectively, risk assessing and allocating tasks. Have an ability to problem solve in crisis.
• Experience of cases allocation, and safety planning.
• Ability to work effectively in partnership with a wide range of professionals, building relationships to promote safety of children and resolve differences.
• Commitment to practice improvement and able to utilise the principles of effective practice to improve outcomes for children and young people with a range of complex needs.
• Good presentation skills and be able to use these to represent the team (in the absence of the Team Manager) at locality strategic planning meetings.
• Working knowledge of children's service legislation and guidance; including understanding of current changes to early help / family help / Families First Partnership Programme.

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we're committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025 , Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government's devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about ) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader.

We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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